photos: Timo
words: Archi

Age: 17
Lives: St Barth, French Indies
Sponsors: Quiksilver
What else: Scuba diving, it gives you a different perspective of the ocean and you can breath under water.

Dimitri Ouvré, is living proof that you can live thousands of kilometers away from the centre of the surf scene and biz and still become a pro. Born and raised in the Caribbean paradise of St Barth, among the rich and famous, it took Dimitri a bit more persuading than your normal grommet to start surfing.

“I didn’t want to surf but my mother forced me to because everyone was surfing in the family,” Dimitri openly admits. Nevertheless, in a matter of years he became the hottest thing on the island. Top locals like David Blanchard showed him a few competitive tricks but Dimitri really discovered the contest scene facing France’s main talent breeding grounds of Guadeloupe and Reunion during national contests. “That’s where you have to really come out the pack, you need people to take notice of your surfing otherwise it is just going to end there,” says Dimitri. But it didn’t end there for Ouvré and under the wings of Philippe Malvaux or Quiksilver team manager tandem Thomas Portet & Belly his horizons broadened. Last summer he again made a name for himself during the Quik King of the Groms International final in France, a big step up in his career.

Growing up in such idyllic surroundings, free surfing could appear to be the natural thing to do with 28°c water and coral reefs, but Dimitri has other plans, “I want to improve my surfi ng and one key thing is to travel and surf with other guys, with friends that rip. Trying to get the best score in a heat or trying to catch the best wave freesurfing with friends, it doesn’t matter, that’s how I want to improve with my surfing.”